UNICEF Annual Report 2012 for Jordan, MENA · · 2017-02-03Further, the limited capacity and...

UNICEF Annual Report 2012 for Jordan, MENA

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Executive Summary

This year, witnessed an escalation of the Syrian crisis, necessitating Jordan Country Office (JCO) to be in the front line response to the crisis. UNICEF scaled-up to meet urgent humanitarian needs for Syrian refugees, including in camps and host communities. As of beginning of December, UNICEF provided water and sanitation services in camps, transit sites and host communities for 91,000 Syrian beneficiaries (of which over 87,000 in camps), supported the enrolment of some 22,600 children in public schools (including schools in camp settings), delivered protection and psycho-social services to 14,400 children and women, and provided measles and polio vaccines and vitamin A to over 9,000 children in Za'atari and approximately 124,300 (includes displaced Syrians and vulnerable Jordanians) in host communities. UNICEF Jordan has built on several strength factors underpinning its regular programme. The first ever foster care programme for children deprived of parental care was established. The first five children were placed with foster families (20 more expected by end of year). This initiative has set the foundation for a major shift in child welfare policy and practice, including shifting judicial interpretation of current law to allow for the placement of children into kin and non-kin foster care. The study on the causes of perinatal and neonatal mortality was completed, whose recommendations will be used to advocate with policy makers and to direct interventions against child mortality. The study provided a wealth of information on the causes of neonatal mortality, its risk factors and circumstances of death. It examined both direct and underlying clinical causes. Neonatal mortality accounts for 65% of infant mortality rate, and in order to achieve MDG 4, focus must be placed on its reduction. The unpredictability of the Syrian crisis brought along challenges, particularly on the Government’s attitude towards humanitarian aid delivery in camp settings, capacity to cover primary services, and JCO expansion towards Core Commitments for Children (CCC) areas that are outside its current regular programme. JCO is also challenged by the government to provide technical support in areas such as budgeting for children, and social policy reform. Further, the limited capacity and number of social workers remains a major obstacle, and a change in the mind-set of judiciary and practitioners is necessary. UNICEF enjoys strategic partnerships with a number of governmental and non-governmental agencies/CBOs that can deliver needed services to the most vulnerable. In order to respond to the refugee crises, JCO expanded existing partnerships, already providing assistance to Iraqi refugees, and developed a number of new partnerships. In the field of Education and Child Protection (CP), JCO initially expanded existing partnerships with the Government to ensure access to education for all Syrian refugee children. As the crises escalated, UNICEF solicited new partners in Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and CP through the global clusters, and with a number of international partners including International Medical Corps (IMC), Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), Mercy Corps, THW, Save the Children International, Japan Emergency NGOs (JEN) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Country Situation as Affecting Children & Women

Jordan is a middle-income and medium human development country, ranking 95th among 187 countries on the Human Development Index; an overall unemployment rate of 13%, and with 13% of the population living below the national absolute poverty line.[1] Jordan has limited natural resources and a scarcity of water resources. Recently, the Government lifted subsidies on fuel prices and imposed budget cuts which added further stress on vulnerable families and their children. The 2010 MDG report[2] confirms that MDG 2 has been achieved, MDG 5 and 6 are on track, and MDG 1, 3, 4, and 7 are achievable if certain measures are taken. Syrian Crisis: the Syrian crisis and the influx of refugees into Jordan have significantly increased, creating pressure on existing resources and services in particular water, education and health. Some 138,000 Syrians are registered and a further 40,061 have registration appointments with UNHCR. About 54% of all Syrian refugees are children. According to UNHCR, there are approximately 35,000 Syrian refugees currently in Za’atari camp and over 1,400 in two other facilities in the North. UNICEF is scaling up its response to meet


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their urgent humanitarian needs, and is providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Child Protection, Education and Health interventions in camps, and communities hosting Syrian refugees. UNICEF is working with UNHCR and partners to coordinate immediate winterization response. Neonatal mortality: Neonatal mortality accounts for 65% of the infant mortality rate, 23 per 1,000 live births. The under-five mortality rate is 28 per 1,000 live births, with slightly higher levels in rural areas. According to a recent UNICEF study carried out by John Snow Institute, 30% of all neonatal deaths were preventable and 44.3% were possibly preventable with optimal care. The Supply determinant, and more specifically access to quality and adequately skilled health services, facilities and equipment remains to be a critical bottleneck to be addressed, as ensuring equitable access to quality health services is still a challenge. Primary/Pre-primary education: Jordan achieved universal primary education, with latest net enrolment ratio at 95% for girls and 93% for boys. Although dropout rates recorded in early grades is minimal, school dropout is on the rise, (especially for the 16-18 years age group), mainly due to economic factors, school overcrowding and poor correlation between what is taught in schools and skills needed for the labour market. Availability of pre-primary education is low, especially in rural areas. The gross enrolment rate for kindergarten is 36%, with 37% for boys and 35% girls.[3] Early Learning Readiness studies are now instituted as a regular monitoring system and are guiding pre-school expansion plans. Opportunities for youth: Children under 18 years make up 44% of the population, while adolescents (10-19 years) make up 23%.[4] Political and socio-economic reform efforts pushed the country to answer to needs of young people and provide them with more opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their lives. While both boys and girls have high progression rate to secondary schooling (98% and 97% respectively), youth unemployment rate is 22% for boys and 45% for girls. The enabling environment represents a barrier to adolescents who have few opportunities for civic engagement or free expression of their opinions, leaving them unprepared for effective participation during adulthood. Violence against children: Violence against children is common, particularly supported by the prevalent societal norms and cultural practices and beliefs as major bottlenecks towards reducing violence against children. Around 70% of girls and boys are exposed to verbal violence at home and school. One third of children are exposed to physical violence at home (girls, 25%; boys, 42%) and 57% at school (girls, 46%; boys, 67 %).[5] Following the launch of Ma’An Campaign to end all forms of violence in schools, a 2010 survey by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education found that physical violence had decreased by 27.5% and verbal violence by 15% in public and UNRWA schools. Children in conflict with the law: An annual average of around 6,200 children in conflict with the law are registered in courts; nearly all were boys and 64% were school children.[6] The Juvenile Law was developed as per international standards and endorsed by Cabinet, and a version of the Childhood Act was submitted to the Legislative Bureau. However, the enabling environment is a critical barrier to expediting the process, as legislative reform is lengthy and labour intensive and adversely affected by frequent Cabinet changes. Also, mainstreaming child protection within institutions requires changes in structure, hierarchy and mind set of people. Approximately, 79% of cases dealt by the Juvenile Police Department in Amman were diverted away from the court system into community-based alternatives. Gender equality and women’s rights: There is political will in support for gender equality and women's empowerment, which is demonstrated for example by the raising of the quota for women in Parliament to 10% and the suggested amendment to the Election Law which raises the quota for women to 15 seats. However, a strong patriarchal tradition, and prevalent social beliefs and norms continue to hinder advancement of women’s rights and defines gender roles in ways that restrict opportunities for women and girls and narrows perspectives on how women can participate in economic, political and community life. Although CEDAW has legal status in Jordan, the country still holds reservations to four of its articles. In 2012, Jordan was placed 121st out of 135 countries on the Gender Gap Index. [1] Keeping the Promise and Achieving Aspirations: Second Millennium Development Goals Report – Jordan, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation/United Nations, 2010.


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[2] Keeping the Promise and Achieving Aspirations: Second Millennium Development Goals Report – Jordan, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation/United Nations, 2010. [3] Kindergarten Policies Review Report, Ministry of Education, 2010. [4] State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2012. [5] Violence against children study in Jordan, UNICEF, 2007. [6] Achievements of the Directorate of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Development, 2009.

Country Programme Analytical Overview

JCO concentrated its efforts in ensuring that the Government of Jordan identifies the most vulnerable children and families and has focused in particular on the re-targeting of social protection mechanisms, advocating for child-oriented budgets, inclusion of foster care for children deprived of parental care, and diversion programmes for juveniles. It has also successfully advocated for access of Syrian refugee children to free schooling, free essential vaccines and primary health care. Capacity of partners was strengthened to enable them to reach out pockets of poverty and most disadvantaged groups. UNICEF’s country programme in Jordan has gradually shifted its focus towards policy dialogue/support, advocacy and high quality technical advisory to line Ministries and normative institutions. Some strategic shifts such as policy-oriented approach, focusing support on national programmes, system strengthening and capacity building have already taken place and will continue in the coming new cycle. As Jordan remains in transition in terms of its social and economic situation, UNICEF programme has adjusted and followed the situation accordingly. While JCO has looked at strengthening its upstream work, in particular in the area of child protection and law reform in juvenile justice and CRC-CEDAW recommendations, as well as social policies- such as the reform of Zakat Fund and support to child-focused targeting of social protection funds -the recent Syrian crisis and subsequent influx of refugees, together with the underserved pockets of previous refugee populations (Iraqis and Palestinians) and the deterioration of the economic situation have required an expansion of humanitarian action and a continued attention to service delivery to highly vulnerable children and families. JCO has considerably expanded in terms of human and financial resources, and has integrated the emergency team with the regular programme. This has allowed stronger programmatic coherence, additional availability of funding for under-resourced areas (e.g. child protection) and continuum between humanitarian response and the regular development work. UNICEF is ending its current programme cycle this year and has developed a new CPAP for the next five years. The new cycle is guided by four drivers: 1) Strengthening upstream work on social policies building on the equity agenda and taking advantage of the achievements in the previous cycle. 2) Rationalization of sections to reflect the new Programme Components Results. The new programme components comprise: 1. Young Child survival and Development; 2. Adolescent Development and Participation; 3. Child Protection; and 4. Social Policy and Evidence for Equity, with a total of five Programme Component Results and fourteen Intermediate Results. Emergency preparedness and response to Syrian and Iraqi refugees is mainstreamed under PCRs 1, 2 and 3 and will constitute an essential part of the cycle. 3) Sharpening equity achievements and responding to emerging programme areas given MTSP and national development agenda. 4) Maintaining capacity to respond to increased humanitarian needs, while ensuring linkages to current program and paving way to recovery. Furthermore, considering the need to strengthen interventions on social norms and behavioural change, JCO placed Communication for Development (C4D) as a cross-cutting element, serving all programme component results.


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Humanitarian Assistance

The Jordan CO programme adapts a range of strategies to the country context in order to achieve results for vulnerable children. The Syrian Crisis has, however, required a re-think of the strategy mix in order to adjust to the new circumstances, with longer term developmental initiatives increasingly taking a back seat throughout 2012 - as they became more difficult to implement, and as the demands of the humanitarian response to the influx of refugees fleeing from Syria into Jordan increased. Throughout 2012, JCO therefore progressively increased and scaled-up its humanitarian assistance in Education, Child Protection, Health and Nutrition and WASH (the latter not present before 2012 in the regular programme) in refugee camp settings as well as in host communities in Jordan. In doing so, the major challenges have been the requirement to quickly build Human Resources (HR) capacity; raise funds at a very fast pace and process Programme Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) in order to keep up with the accelerating level of the response. There has been an additional challenge with the identification of the most vulnerable children within the host communities, although this is now being addressed through a joint UNICEF/UNHCR initiative with ACTED/REACH to comprehensively map Syrian refugees in Jordan and associated vulnerabilities.

Effective Advocacy

Mostly met benchmarks

Capacity Development


Communication for Development

Partially met benchmarks

Service Delivery


Strategic Partnerships

Fully met benchmarks

Knowledge Management


Human Rights Based Approach to Cooperation


Gender Equality



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Environmental Sustainability


South-South and Triangular Cooperation

The South-South cooperation was manifested through JCO’s participation in a high-level meeting to promote the Early Childhood Development (ECD) agenda in a conference held in Saudi Arabia. The conference aimed at putting the ECD agenda high on the policy makers and educators’ agenda, and thus gathered numerous researchers and advocates for higher investment in early childhood years. Participants included experts in the ECD field from throughout the Kingdom; practitioners in the field, and students from Princess Noura University (PNU) University. The conference was opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Adela Bint Abdulla Al Saud, the President of Princess Noura University and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education. Such prominent presence reflected the amount of political support and high level leadership that the organizers were aiming to promote. UNICEF JCO discussed the importance of the 0-3 years age group for future development, and on the successful interventions that were evidence-based, which had a positive impact on child outcomes, and that could be replicated in the region. Thus, due to the office’s compilation of successful evidence-based projects and as an example of mutual exchange and cooperation, JCO presented a wealth of ECD project models that can be adapted and replicated in the region. The experience has also contributed to the empowerment of female scholars and ECD practitioners with knowledge and skills to excel in this field. The conference also included presentations from experts in ECD and brain development, and presenters of innovative experiences from the region and beyond. UNESCO presented their coordination efforts through the establishment of the ECD network, and AGFUND presented their strategies and directions for supporting ECD programmes in the region highlighting Jordan’s programmes. A further example of mutual exchange and South-South cooperation that took place this year includes the surge missions of three staff members from UNICEF Pakistan and Sudan offices, who provided support to JCO in the areas of Emergency Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Education, and played major roles in building staff capacities in humanitarian response. This came at a time when JCO had to take immediate action in response to the escalation of the Syrian crisis and had to scale-up to meet urgent humanitarian needs for Syrian refugees in Jordan. This exchange in staff expertise in humanitarian response benefited the office with immediate and technical support, coupled with their long term experience, particularly in the area of M&E in emergencies. One of the most notable areas of support provided for the Emergency unit was the development of the Humanitarian Performance and Response Monitoring toolkit, which was developed to provide programme progress against the relevant Core Commitments for Children (CCCs), qualitative data from field monitoring, and results achieved through humanitarian action. The tool is also being used for sitrep and partners reporting.


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Narrative Analysis by Programme Component Results and Intermediate Results

Jordan – 2340

PC 201 - Young child survival and development

PCR 2340/A0/03/214 PCR1: Comprehensive ECD legislation and government policies, plans and budgets are guided by evidence-based data founded on the Early Learning and Development Standards framework.

Progress: UNICEF provided significant support to finalization of the Second Early Childhood Development (ECD) Plan of Action, which subsequently was endorsed by the Cabinet. Early Learning Readiness studies are now instituted as a regular monitoring system every three years and are guiding preschool expansion plans. More in-depth analysis of the disparities needs to be conducted in order to be able to target under-privileged children. However, expansion of quality ECD services is challenged by financial resources. Nurseries are suffering from quality issues and are unavailable for working mothers. Licensing standards also need to be endorsed and implemented to improve quality. Nevertheless, the existence of the Plan of Action is a catalyst for action by all concerned ministries and a good fund-raising document. In terms of budget allocations, a total of three ministries have allocated budgets for Better Parenting, and the Ministry of Health allocated JD 50,000 annual budget within its newly established IMCI section.

IR 2340/A0/03/214/001 IR 1: ECD PoA II endorsed by Cabinet and integrated within relevant ministries plans and budgets.

Progress: The ECD plan of Action was endorsed by the Cabinet and is being printed for dissemination. A comparison report between EDI and EYE (??) was presented to the Ministry of Education, and EDI was approved as the tool for monitoring learning readiness after adaptation and translation. The second school readiness survey is underway for the scholastic year 2012-2013

IR 2340/A0/03/214/002 IR2: MoH have quality IMCI services are available at medical facilities and are as part of its annual plans and budgets.

Progress: A section for IMCI has been established within the Ministry of Health and a total of JD 50,000 annual budget has been allocated. However, there is still weak coordination between the IMCI section and the child Health section which hinders the implementation of the programme

IR 2340/A0/03/214/003 IR 3: Four Ministries (MoE, MoH, MoSD, MoAiA) have BP integrated into their annual plans and budgets.

Progress: The dialogue between UNICEF and counterpart ministries on the integration of the BP programme into their annual plans and budgets has resulted in the allocation of budget for BP at the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD). Work is ongoing with MoH whereby plans have been developed for integration within their 2013 budget; however, funding for NGOs implementing BP is not secured. The result of UNICEF Evaluation of Better Parenting Programme that was conducted in 2010 was used to advocate for the integration of the Better Parenting (BP) programme into the counterpart ministries’ annual plans and budgets. The National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) has come forward to take the responsibility of coordinating among partners to implement the BP programme; however, issues related to coordination might arise in the future.

PCR 2340/A0/03/216 PCR2: By 2012, 15% of families adopt 15 key child care practices to enhance child development with a focus on poverty pockets.

Progress: Better Parenting is now a national Programme that is being implemented nationwide by 11 Partners (MoE, MoSD, MoH, MoAiA, ICS, JNFW, JOHUD, UNRWA, GUVS Mafraq, Farouq and NCFA). Evaluation


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proved its effectiveness both in terms on impact on parents’ knowledge and delivery cost. To date, more than 14.3 percent of families have been trained on proper child-rearing practices. However, sustainability of the programme with NGOs without UNICEF funding is an issue. Reaching the most vulnerable is also a challenge, and ensuring coordination amongst partners will be challenging. Nevertheless, the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) will take the lead in coordinating implementation of the programme, and funding opportunities do exist with AGFUND. The national campaign on breastfeeding was cancelled due to lack of funding. During 2012, over 7,580 Syrian parents and caregivers acquired the necessary skills on better child care practices. Awareness sessions on better parenting and child care practices were held to guide Syrian families to appropriate child-rearing practices in difficult circumstances

IR 2340/A0/03/216/001 IR 1: 3% of families practicing key 15 child care practices to enhance child development.

Progress: 2.3% families have been trained on proper child rearing practices at home throughout Jordan by implementing parenting courses by nine national partners involving 150 Imams, 75 Preachers, 140 facilitators and 70 liaison officers. The Syrian emergency, however, has disrupted some of the work of the NGOs since they needed to direct focus on the Syrian refugees. The demand still exceeds the offer but financial constraints are prohibiting further expansion. There is a need to ensure proper coordination and quality of delivery.

IR 2340/A0/03/216/002 IR 2: Exclusively breastfeeding campaign planned launched and implemented throughout Jordan.

Progress: A national Study is underway to examine the causes for low rate of exclusive breastfeeding. However, the lack of funding prevented the investment in a behavioural change campaign

IR 2340/A0/03/216/003 Vulnerable and Displaced Syrian families provided with improved sanitation, hygiene services and water.

PCR 2340/A0/03/219 PCR3: By 2012, 30% of infants and children under five years of age in ten governorates have access to IMCI services.

Progress: IMCI was adopted as a health system strategy for children under 5 years. The IMCI expansion has covered all governorates with over 35% coverage of health centres. The assessment of IMCI proved to be a good implementation strategy in Jordan. However, supervision and reporting on IMCI implementation is still weak due to administrative reasons. High turnover of doctors, lack of funding for IMCI and weak coordination among different MoH sections are also facing challenges. Nevertheless, the availability of qualified Master Trainers, in addition to the support provided by WHO to IMCI represent positive opportunities for this initiative. The study on the causes of perinatal and neonatal mortality was also completed. It provides a wealth of information on the causes of neonatal mortality in Jordan, its risk factors and circumstances of death. The study examined both direct and underlying clinical causes and contributing health system causes. The findings will contribute to the development of a plan for the establishment of an efficient reporting and review system on child death. UNICEF will discuss recommendations of the study with stakeholders and develop a plan of action for reduction of NMR and consequently, Infant Mortality.

IR 2340/A0/03/219/001 IR1: Additional 110 health centres in 10 governorates capable of implementing IMCI.

Progress: IMCI is now implemented in 187 Centers in all governorates. Around 72 health professionals were trained in 2012, raising the percentage coverage of the district with IMCI services to over 80%. However, there is still need for proper coordination among different sections within the Ministry of Health

IR 2340/A0/03/219/004 IR 2: One university has integrated IMCI in its medical curricula.


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Progress: A total of 10 doctors from four universities were trained on IMCI. However due to the Syrian emergency, no follow-up was made with universities to ensure its integration into the medical school curriculum

PC 202 - Child protection

PCR 2340/A0/03/213 PCR1: Policy and legal frameworks related to child rights are aligned with international standards and that social protection policies are pro-poor.

Progress: With regards to child related policies, the Juvenile Law has been developed as per international human rights standards and submitted to Parliament. The CRC and two optional treaty reports were completed in a participatory manner and submitted to the CRC Committee. The CEDAW report was also finalized with wide participation of national institutions in partnership with UN agencies in a consultative manner and submitted to the Committee. Further, support to the reform of Zakat governance and targeting was initiated. However, Legislative reform is lengthy and labour intensive and adversely affected by the frequent Cabinet changes. Also, social beliefs and norms sometimes hinders advancement of women’s rights. Opportunities do exist in the sense that collective advocacy efforts are crucial for legislative and policy change. Also, mainstreaming child protection within institutions requires changes in structure, hierarchy and mind set of people working in these institutions. Papers for the National Poverty Strategy have been prepared to better target poor children, however, the newly developed Poverty Reduction Strategy needs to be implemented

IR 2340/A0/03/213/001 IR1: Gaps in policy and legislation institutional capacities are identified and plan to address them is developed with focus on strengthening social work and cash transfer programmes for the most vulnerable.

Progress: The audit Process for Zakat Fund is ongoing and the Standard Operating Procedures are being developed. Work on the MIS for Zakat fund has also started. Technical and Financial support were provided towards the development of a Management Information System to (MIS) to better capture, process and manage information on the design and delivery of all of the above programs and the processes and procedures detailed in the Operations Manual for the Zakat Fund and the suggested structural changes to Zakat Fund for better efficiency and effectiveness of the transfers for the most vulnerable children. However, there is considerable weak capacity in the Zakat Fund. Papers for the National Poverty Strategy have been prepared to better target poor children. UNICEF supported the development of two papers in contribution to the Poverty Reduction Strategy; “Social Care Services” and “Targeting of Zakat”. These papers were submitted to UNDP and the Ministry of Social Development. However, till date, the PRSP is not implemented.

IR 2340/A0/03/213/002 IR2: Childhood Act and Juvenile Law finalized, CRC report to the committee completed and discussed with the committee in a participatory manner.

Progress: The Juvenile Law was endorsed and the Costing of the law is being prepared. The CRC official report was submitted and CRC Shadow report prepared in a participatory manner. A network of several NGOs and CBOs participated in the development of the Shadow report. However, the lengthy process of legislative change coupled with the frequent ministerial changes hindered the work. The CEDAW periodic report was submitted with wide participation of national institutions in partnership with UN agencies.

PCR 2340/A0/03/217 PCR2: National Protection System to provide services to children and women victims of violence.

Progress:

The computerized Tracking system for violence against women and children was launched in Amman. The system has the potential to assure the timeliness of services to victims, particularly women and children. Such support enabled and will further empower women in the future at the national and community level to


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get needed assistance. However, reporting violence cases is still hindered by weak political support of MoH and lack of conviction among doctors of the need to combat violence against women and children due to tribal leverage on society. The Ma’An Campaign- a national initiative for behavior modification of teachers with regard to verbal and physical violence - will continue to be implemented in all MoE schools. However, there still remains belief amongst teachers & parents of the importance of corporal punishment. The Ma’an Campaign to be scaled up through media. Further, the first ever foster care programme for children deprived of parental care was established. The foster care pilot initiative which aims at developing and implementing sustainable alternatives to institutional placements for children, was able to make substantial gains in the first year, by setting the foundation for a major shift in child welfare policy and practice in Jordan, including shifting judicial interpretation of current law to allow for the placement of children into kin and non-kin foster care. UNICEF will use the evidence-based pilot to convince policy makers on the viability of the programme.

IR 2340/A0/03/217/001 IR1: Detection and referral mechanisms established and operational at the national level and capacities of Social workers, law enforcement officers and health professionals strengthened at national level to respond to violence against children and women.

Progress: The UN joined forces to support the development of a national computerized violence tracking system, which will be administered by the National Council for Family Affairs, to monitor the flow of cases of violence and identify loopholes and gaps in the services. Six agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, WHO, UNWOMEN, UNHCR) worked together in a joint initiative to establish a tracking and referral system for victims of violence within the overall National Family Protection Framework. The computerized Violence Tracking system is now operational at the Family Protection Department in Amman and has handled 187 cases. A total of 125 doctors and Family Protection Committees at hospitals were trained and health centres supported. This equipped medical staff with the knowledge and skills to examine and refer suspected violence cases to relevant government agencies. However, the conviction of doctors to report on violence is still weak and there remains to be lack of accountability at MOH level. Further, the first five children have been placed with Foster families (20 more expected by end of year). Also foster and probation slots were included in MOSD’s budget as a fixed line item, which represents a crucial component of sustainability efforts. This initiative is poised to shift the models of care for children in Jordan. While the programme is so far only operating in Zarqa and Irbid governorate, work is underway to expand fostering across the country, and expand the caseloads. Scaled up implementation is planned in Zarqa, Irbid and Amman. Also expansion of policy advocacy for nationwide expansion of the foster care programme is planned. Partnering with local NGOs will be necessary to build staff capacity for family support intervention delivery and existing behavioural observers will be utilized, with additional specialized case management training. It is also planned to prepare for expansion through on-going relationships with partners in more traditional communities.

IR 2340/A0/03/217/002 IR2: By 2012, 50% reduction of teachers/administration violence towards children in all public and UNRWA schools.

Progress: UNICEF supported the Ministry of Education (MoE) in developing a school based tracking system to monitor the extent of verbal and physical violence and the use of negative reinforcement against students after the implementation of the Ma’An campaign - a national programme for behavior modification of teachers with regard to verbal and physical violence. This system allows the MoE to measure the change in the teachers’ practices disaggregated by student’s gender, school, grade, educational directorate and the educational authority. The computerized violence monitoring system was implemented in all MoE schools on a monthly basis. However, there still remains a need to train teachers on classroom management skills and alternatives to violence. Following the implementation of the Ma'an campaign, there has been a 40 % reduction of teachers/administration physical violence towards children in public and UNRWA schools and 20% reduction in verbal violence in schools from the baseline of 2009.

IR 2340/A0/03/217/003 IR3: Programme Support


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PCR 2340/A0/03/221 PCR3: Children in conflict with the law are protected by the new Juvenile law and have access to restorative justice approaches.

Progress: The Juvenile Law has been developed and is built on the principles of restorative justice and diversion. The diversion programme for children in conflict with the law in Irbid governorate was established. However, there are limited capacities in Social Work, and community re-integration requires human power and logistics for visiting families. Nevertheless, the community re-integration initiative is a cost-effective programme for the government in the long run and the Jordanian society and customs are conducive to diversion. A specialized Juvenile Police to tackle children in conflict with the law cases was established as a result of UNICEF advocacy efforts.

IR 2340/A0/03/221/001 IR 1: Community based and Restorative justice approaches established and capacities of Social workers, law enforcements officers and judiciary strengthened at national level to work with children in contact with the law, based on human rights principles.

Progress: The Diversion Programme was established and 10 children were diverted into community-based rehabilitation programmes (20 more are expected). Approximately 79% of cases dealt by the Juvenile Police Department in Amman were diverted. Also, capacity building programme for judges, social workers and behavior observers were implemented. The initial cost of the programme development for diversion is however high. An assessment of the impact of the programme is underway.

IR 2340/A0/03/221/003 IR3: Programme Support

IR 2340/A0/03/221/004 IR2: Laws, regulations and procedures promoting restorative justice approaches developed, endorsed and operational.

Progress: The manual on Diversion principles and guide for social workers were developed and the social workers were trained. However, there is need for endorsement of the law to facilitate the diversion programme.

PCR 2340/A0/03/225: Sustain the number of vulnerable Iraqi children and youth who benefit from a safe environment where their psycho-social needs are met through 2012; while ensuring equitable access to Jordanian vulnerable children.

IR 2340/A0/03/225/001 By the end of 2012, capacity of 80 school counsellors and 1,500 teachers in public schools and the working team at MOE is developed to respond to psycho-social needs of vulnerable Iraqi children.

IR 2340/A0/03/225/002 By 2012, capacity of at least 5 CBOs & NGOs at community level to provide psychosocial support to vulnerable Iraqi children and families is developed.

IR 2340/A0/03/225/003 Vulnerable Syrian children and their parents in targeted areas are provided with psychosocial support.

PC 203 - Adolescent's participation and empowerment

PCR 2340/A0/03/208 PCR1: Improved life skills learning and children’s and parents’ participation in the school environment with a view to improve the quality of education

Progress: The main achievements accomplished this year include the following: starting with mainstreaming the debate culture in the Ministry of Education, activating Parent Teacher Association and Students Council in the governmental schools and reducing the disaster risk in 24 governmental schools by enhancing preparedness among teachers and students and community members. MoE teachers in most disadvantaged communities were equipped with skills and information to implement quality sports for development activities for students. Many challenges were faced by implementing partners and UNICEF such as hesitancy of school principals to provide spaces for students to participate in Student Councils; limited sport facilities in schools and youth clubs; and a perceived lack of priority for sports for development. The constant shifting of cabinet, resulted in


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changing priorities among governmental partners, in addition to the teachers strike which affected implementation in schools. The institutionalization of the disaster risk reduction strategy within the Ministry of Education plans and creating a specialized department in charge of implementation and mainstreaming of DRR is crucial for the sustainability of the DRR preparedness in schools. As many donors and actors are interested in supporting DRR, UNICEF can facilitate coordination and mainstreaming of the DRR. Provision of safe places for girls in school to be able to practice sport activities is needed to ensure girls’ participation.

IR 2340/A0/03/208/001 IR 1: All children and adolescents (grades 4-12) in governmental schools have access to life skills-based education (LSBE) quality inclusive sports for development activities as part of the Physical Education subject area and extracurricular activities.

Progress:

Through a partnership between UNICEF and Rights to Play, Madrasti and Ministry of Education teachers in most disadvantaged schools, (mostly located in poverty pockets) were trained on facilitating quality inclusive sport for development sessions for their students on a regular basis during and after school hours. Students were engaged in quality sport activities through physical education classes and play days organized after school hours with participation of parents and community members. A Study on out of school/drop out children was commissioned in partnership with UNESCO and Ministry of Education to enhance the Education Management Information System’s capacity of MoE to compute more accurate estimates of out of school dropouts on a regular basis. It is based on UNICEF and UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) joint global initiative on Out-Of-School Children. Data on out of school children will be available in early January 2013. Frequent changes in MOE minster was one of the main challenges faced in 2012, which hindered the implementation of the plan to build the capacity of all PE teachers on sport for development. To overcome this challenge, a partnership was established with Madrasti Initiative to build the capacity of teachers in most disadvantaged schools in providing quality inclusive sport for development activities for students.

IR 2340/A0/03/208/002 IR 2 : Participation of student councils (SCs) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) in school learning environment is increased by 20%

Progress: In 2012, UNICEF continued its support to MoE in enhancing participation of the Student Councils and Parent Teacher Associations in the school learning environment . Some 104 MoE staff have acquired the skills and information on adolescents participation and development along with schools initiatives. Also, 600 principles of public and private schools were trained on activating the role of Parents Teacher Associations and Student Councils in schools. More than 100 students, teachers, parents and policy makers took part in the first conference on Parent Teacher Associations and Student Councils. The debate culture was mainstreamed in the MoE through debate clubs and the integration of debate in the social studies subject. Schools principals also participated in capacity building processes to equip them with information and skills to mainstream debates in the classrooms, which lead to 9000 students being exposed to the debates in social studies classes. Main challenges faced include the teachers and principals’ resistance to provide spaces for students to participate in the school life through the Students Councils.

IR 2340/A0/03/208/003 IR 3: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) standards are reflected in education policies and awareness on DRR safety measures is increased among students, teachers, parents and community members in 50 most exposed schools to identified hazards

Progress: UNICEF assisted MoE to enhance the disaster risk reduction safety measures and awareness, especially at most at risks schools and areas, on disasters in Jordan. Awareness on disaster risk reduction safety measures in 24 out of 50 schools was increased among students, teachers and local community while the Ministry of Education is considering establishing a DRR unit inside the ministry to ensure its sustainability. A total of 200 adolescents, teachers, students and parents from 24 most at risk schools in the


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south of Jordan were equipped with skills and information related to disaster risk reduction. In addition, disaster risk reduction school committees, comprising teachers, students and community members were established in the 24 schools to raise awareness on the DRR inside the schools and among community members. DRR plans were developed jointly by the DRR committee for each school. During 2012, a total 20,750 beneficiaries from schools and community members were engaged in DRR activities in the 24 schools. UNICEF supported the Ministry of Education for increased networking among related implementing partners and donors for future cooperation and expansion, in order to cover other schools in the most at risk areas to natural disasters.

PCR 2340/A0/03/209 PCR2: Improved knowledge and practices among adolescents (especially most disadvantaged groups) to lead a healthy lifestyle and to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and substance abuse

Progress: The “National Criteria for Adolescents Friendly Spaces” which set up minimum standards for working with youth were institutionalized at policy level by two key organizations working with adolescents/ youth. Awareness increased among adolescents and youth workers on key principles of working with youth. This also matched the increased opportunities and networking provided in 20 local communities to facilitate the implementation of sports for development activities for children and adolescents, especially girls. In addition to creating a network of 10 national partners to raise further awareness on better parenting for adolescents, knowledge and practices among adolescents to lead a healthy lifestyle were enhanced through participation in sport for development activities. Challenges faced include limited financial resources available for local partners to support youth centers to improve services provided for adolescents. Youth workers also resisted the idea of providing space for adolescents to participate effectively in the management of youth centers. Moreover, several communities and families showed resistance towards adolescent girls’ participation in sport activities, especially with limited sport facilities for girls in local communities. The limited Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capacity of national partners also represented a bottleneck. Nevertheless, building the capacity of national partners’ remains crucial to sustain supported interventions, and networking with other international organizations is needed to sustain the national criteria as a basis to support youth centres.

IR 2340/A0/03/209/001 IR1:Quality of services provided for adolescents in youth centers and community based organizations is improved

Progress: The institutionalization of National criteria for adolescents-friendly spaces in 45 centers, affiliated with the Higher Council for Youth (HCY) and Princess Basama Youth Resources Centers (PBYRC) was one of the main key achievements of this component. Through the National Criteria, UNICEF in cooperation with the Higher Council for Youth and Princess Basma Youth Resources Centers were the two main key service providers for youth in enhancing the knowledge, skills and attitudes of 650 managers, youth workers, and adolescents on best practices of the national criteria and to support them in its utilization, while planning and reaching out to youth and adolescents. This clearly reflects on youth and adolescents by providing them with more space to express opinions and views through participating in planning of activities. Opening the space for young people and adolescents through national competition on photography named "show me tell me" provided a forum for adolescents to express their opinions and raise their voices through photography. One of the key challenges faced was the limited financial resources available for national implementation partners to support youth centers in applying the national criteria. Ongoing discussions are taking place between UNICEF and some international donors on establishing a task force to support the mainstreaming of national criteria in different youth centers.

IR 2340/A0/03/209/002 IR 2 : Participation of adolescents in inclusive quality sports for development activities is increased by 10% in 25 most disadvantaged communities

Progress: In 2012, a networking established between a number of governmental and non-governmental


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organizations to provide opportunities for adolescents and children from 20 most disadvantaged communities to participate in quality sports for development activities. More than 12,000 adolescents and children regularly and irregularly engaged in quality inclusive sport activities and play days in these communities, which are mostly located in poverty pockets. Participating in quality sports for development activities provided increased opportunity for adolescents to lead a healthy lifestyle and develop their team work, communication and problem solving skills. In addition, some 382 of adolescents and services providers obtained skills and information to facilitate quality inclusive sport for development sessions for adolescents, young children and children with disabilities. UNICEF facilitated the cooperation among implementing partners and monitored the implementation closely by conducting field visits and interviews with beneficiaries and service providers and through regular meetings facilitated by the program team. One of the key challenges faced was limited sports facilities available in general and appreciation for girls in particular, which hindered girls’ participation in sports activities. To overcome this challenge, partnership and networking were established with different local organizations to allow utilization of available local facilities like sheltered sports hall by girls.

IR 2340/A0/03/209/003 IR 3 : The knowledge and skills of 28,000 parents of adolescents in most disadvantaged communities is improved in better parenting

Progress: During 2012, a network of 10 national governmental and non-governmental organizations was strengthened to provide better parenting courses and awareness sessions for parents and caregivers of adolescents. Through this network, better parenting sessions for parents of adolescents were conducted in most disadvantaged communities in rural and urban settings throughout Jordan, in which more than 22,000 adolescents’ parents and caregivers (13% male) acquired skills and knowledge on adolescents’ development and participation. In addition, 200 master trainers and facilitators from 10 governmental and NGOs were provided with the skills and information to facilitate and build the capacity of parents on issues related to adolescents development and participation.

PCR 2340/A0/03/210 PCR3: Increased participation of adolescents in the development of policies that affect their lives and programme implementation at the local, sub-national and national levels.

Progress: Major achievements include increased participation of adolescents in the development of policies that affect their lives. Jordanian youth and adolescents prepared and led the development of the children shadow report on the Convention of the Rights of Child (CRC) to advance the cause of children’s rights. The children CRC report, which is the first in the MENA region, will be considered by the CRC committee along with the official report and the shadow report prepared by NGOs. Moreover, through the Greater Amman Municipality/ Child Municipal Council, adolescents have been provided with opportunities to influence policies that affect their lives to promote and protect their rights and lives. Children form all Amman districts were represented in the Children Municipal Council (CMC) and were able to discuss their priorities and voice their concerns at local municipality level. Another key achievement was the launching of the second National Youth Survey, which provided opportunity for several national and international organizations to build partnerships to support the generation of data on youth in Jordan. One of the major challenges faced was the delay in agreement amongst different partners on the scope and themes of the national youth survey, accompanied by limited financial resources available for national partners to support it. Creating a platform for adolescents to discuss their priorities and concerns with policy makers should be initiated and mainstreamed.

IR 2340/A0/03/210/001 IR 1 : Participation of adolescents in the CRC reporting and other national plans/reports is increased

Progress: In 2012, the first CRC shadow report prepared by adolescents in Arabic was finalized. A total of 80 adolescents and young people who took part in the process of planning, implementing and finalizing the CRC report were provided with opportunities to build their capacity on CRC reporting, research, communications and many soft skills needed to accomplish the report. The report, which is being translated


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into English, is considered to be the first report in MENA region that raises concerns about children and adolescents.

IR 2340/A0/03/210/002 IR 2 : Strengthened capacity of local governance to enhance the participation of children and adolescents in decision-making at the municipal level

Progress: After successful experiences with Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), children municipal councils expanded to include all Greater Amman Municipality districts to enable more children to participate in the decision-making process. Children, members of the Children Municipal Council were provided with the skills and information on participation and leadership to participate effectively in the CMC. UNICEF in cooperation with the Higher Council of Youth and other national and international agencies in the country launched the second national youth survey to generate and update available data on the situation, priorities and aspirations of young people aged 10-24 and address gaps of knowledge in areas where information is not available. The increased influx of refugees in Jordan, frequent reshuffle of cabinets and the political situation in the country were the main challenges faced in 2012.

PCR 2340/A0/03/215 PCR1: Sustain the number of vulnerable Iraqi children and youth, who continue to benefit from safe, quality and appropriate education through 2012, while ensuring equitable access to Jordanian vulnerable children.

PC 204 - Policy advocacy and partnerships for children's rights

PCR 2340/A0/03/211 PCR1: Improved database, systems and capacity for monitoring and analyzing the situation of children and women

Progress:

Research and studies included in the IMEP were implemented in accordance with the plan and with improved quality of the final report as a result of sharing the UNICEF quality assurance checklist with the consultants. JCO continues to consider other equity specific studies in certain geographic areas, and advocates for the collection and analysis of data that provide knowledge on disparities. Technical and financial support was provided to DOS to capture equity/disparities at sub-national level including children and women living in Palestinian refugee camps. DevInfo was also brought online for greater dissemination, and as a system that allows the availability of up-to-date strategic information. However, DevInfo 6 is not user friendly for external public users. Further, the addition of the two MICS modules to DHS (on Early Childhood Development and Child Discipline) are highly important for UNICEF, in order to inform its programme development in these two major focus areas.

IR 2340/A0/03/211/002 IR 2: By 2012, national M&E network established to work towards building national M&E capacities to support pro-equity programmes.

Progress: Further progress was made by the M&E network that was established last year to strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practices and capacities at the national level lead by the Government Performance Administration at the Prime Ministry of Jordan (GPA). Several meetings were held by the group of M&E professionals to begin a dialogue and agree on terms of reference and coordination mechanisms. As a result a work plan was developed, a website and database were established. However, the network is still not functioning and lacks specialized technical capacity in M&E.

IR 2340/A0/03/211/003 IR3: Project Costs

IR 2340/A0/03/211/004 IR1: ensure up-to-date data, information and knowledge on children and women compiled and available


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Progress: JCO had planned a number of evaluations, surveys and studies in 2012 as part of its IMEP, and

was tracking and reporting the progress of the actual implementation of these activities to management.

These studies covered: Adolescents, Child Protection, Young Child Survival and Development and

Emergency/Education Programme. Research often took more time than anticipated, especially when multiple

partners were involved. JorInfo, which is owned by the Department of Statistics (DOS), was established as a

national database against the DevInfo framework, and is periodically updated to capture information on the

main issues related to children and women and their situation. Also, limited availability of data at sub-

national level discourages achieving equity. In order to monitor the country office reponse to the Syria crises

effectively, JCO introduced a multi-purpose humanitarian performance and response monitoring toolkit which

is based on Humanitarian Performance Monitoring /CCC requirements. However, there is a need to improve

the evidence-base, simplify and standardizing the reporting processes across all countries dealing with the

Syrian Refugees. To this end, MENARO took the lead in order to develop MIS for Humanitarian Response and

build the capacity in this area One of the constraints faced is that M&E staff serve multiple roles so that only little time can be dedicated to

M&E.

PCR 2340/A0/03/212 PCR2: Government budget allocations for programs affecting children in 4 pilot ministries (MoSD, MoE, MoH, MoL) are explicitly stated in the annual budget law and increasing over time

Progress: UNICEF enabled an innovative review and coordination mechanism at the technical level encouraging the focus of professionals in ministerial Finance and Planning Directorates and the General Budget Department on practical aspects of child rights implementation. The General Budget Department and the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) have been very competent and reliable partners. NCFA, as national institution in charge of overseeing the implementation of the National Plan of Action for Children 2004 – 2013, lead the review process. A significant factor contributing to the progress was the continued positive approach and highly competent technical support by the General Budget Department. However, the Government of Jordan is facing serious budget constraints. In the future, strong advocacy work will be needed to at least sustain existing budget allocations directly benefiting children. An excellent opportunity for further mainstreaming child rights into ministerial programming is through providing inputs for a child-sensitive update of the ministry’s strategic plans, as started in 2013.

IR 2340/A0/03/212/003 IR 3: National initiatives to strengthen national budgeting and expenditure analysis capacities are supported

Progress: Training material on child-friendly budgeting is available now to the General Budget Department (GBD) and are integrated into their regular training programmes. The GBD is also enhancing internal and line ministries’ M&E capacities to stay on top of this process

IR 2340/A0/03/212/004 IR 1: Advocacy for pro-child spending is strengthened

Progress: All the targets were met. The UNICEF program funded the printing of the Child Budget Analysis as well as an awareness session with members of parliament about the child-friendly budgeting initiative, and produced awareness materials. The reporting period however, is best characterized by an unprecedented public financial crisis moving the GoJ to the verge of insolvency. Mitigating efforts culminated in the final removal of fuel subsidies combined with a prospect of direct cash payments to low-income households. Nevertheless, the stress especially on the most vulnerable families and their children was deepened by cascading price hikes right after the slashing of fuel subsidies. The current program partners are also competent but not fully able to trigger a significant move towards the better fulfillment of child rights in Jordan. It is recommended to establish a partnership with the National Human Rights Commission to develop such a HR/CR programming training for the state administration.

IR 2340/A0/03/212/005 IR2: Budget monitoring mechanisms in place and institutionalized at GBD

Progress: The Prime Ministry’s Budget Circular with budget preparation instructions to all Ministries and


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Departments for the year 2012 included child-sensitive forms. During 2012, teams composed of General Budget Department Budget Analysts, line ministry planners and finance officers revised the budget performance information. The recommended changes were adopted. The 2012 General Budget Law now contains child-sensitive Key Performance Indicators as well as programme performance indicators to report on.

PCR 2340/A0/03/224 PCR3: Improved leverage of resources and partnerships for children using advocacy

Progress: UNICEF developed an advocacy document to raise the minimum age of children in conflict with the law. The team advocated with stakeholders on changing the minimum age for the juveniles in conflict with the law and succeeded through government’s initiative to draft a new law that protects juveniles. The discussion of this new amended law, which was conducted in a participatory manner, allowed all stakeholders to provide their comments on it. The process took time until it was due to reach the parliament. The reason behind the delay was due to the continuous change in the government prime ministers and ministers. Once it was in its final stages and ready to be submitted to the parliament for approval the parliament was dissolved. Now the juvenile justice law is still with the government and will need to wait for the next elected parliamentary members. One of the challenges ahead for this law would be to raise the awareness of the new parliamentary members on the importance of this law to provide a safe environment for children, who could be protected not only by social norms but also by laws that are put in place and enforced. The Syrian crisis has also contributed to the C4D area, with initiatives created to change behaviours of Syrian refugees, like hygiene-related issues. Also, the awareness raised on the importance of vaccination for all children under the age of 5. Press releases and media interviews were conducted to raise awareness on the importance of vaccination. Initiatives like these have helped in reducing the spread of disease. The influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan has created a new niche for media.

IR 2340/A0/03/224/001 IR1: Update journalists on UNICEF issues regarding children and women

Progress:

During this year UNICEF has approached individual media professionals because it was discovered that the media personnel preferred to be dealt with individually. UNICEF spent more time on media professionals individually who were interested in children issues, and provided them with the needed support to cover issues on children. This involved taking media to the field to cover stories from UNICEF projects and see what changes those projects have brought to the lives of children.

Sometimes those efforts required several visits to the projects sites. These visits did not only contribute to raising awareness on how to report on children’s issues but it also brought attention to the media professionals on the wide mandate UNICEF has to cover on children’s issues.

The journalists did not only receive support on the ground, but also received the supporting documents needed to complete the stories, through sharing studies and reports on the issues they were covering. This increased their knowledge in the vast resources that they could access through UNICEF on children’s issues and developed respect to what the organization has to offer to children in the country. UNICEF developed the capacities of a new generation of journalists such as training on investigative journalism in child rights. A twitter account to report on children issues was also set up.

IR 2340/A0/03/224/002 Support Ma'An Communication for Development (C4D) initiatives


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Progress:

Communication for Development (C4D) was an important highlight for this year, but due to the government change, the Ma’An C4D campaign did not progress as it should have. Nonetheless, letters on using other methods to address violence against children in schools were printed and distributed to all schools and parents of students through the Ministry of Education. Identifying community leaders to change the behaviour of using violence as means of discipline, however, was challenging. The media committee which was not functioning as a committee was revisited and reorganized, and talks with the Ministry of Education to revive the media committee took place on several occasions. It was difficult for both parties to agree on a leader for the media committee because the media environment in Jordan is such that, it is difficult to find a leader in this business except for some who do not have the time nor social status, thus not allowing them to chair a media committee.

To make strides in this component, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF agreed to start with looking at the membership of the committee and keep those who were actively involved and add to the committee new members who could bring in new ideas. Once this was done, a C4D training was conducted for the members of the committee to enable them to better understand how C4D works and what is needed to start changing behaviours not only of teachers but also of parents where the campaign was seeking to expand to. Currently, there are no dedicated staff working on communication for development (C4D)


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Effective Governance Structure

For quality assurance, the office maintains a governance structure to manage and monitor Country Programme and office activities. The structure consists of a Country Management Team (CMT) with clear TOR and membership reviewed and approved at the beginning of the year. CMT meetings continued to use programme monitoring sheets with key areas to review including, programme implementation and monitoring; funding; and Human Resources (HR) management. During the CMT meetings, key areas were reviewed to ensure that results were achieved and to determine whether there were areas which required more attention. The CMT is chaired by the Representative and includes the Deputy Representative, CSU (Common Services Unit) Operations Manager, heads of units and representatives from National Professionals, General Service staff and Staff Association. Through the CMT, the office continued to monitor and ensure that the observations and recommendations from the last audit were met. JCO has a functional Programme Committee comprising the Representative, Deputy Representative (chaired by the former or latter), CSU Operations Manager and Specialists to ensure cohesive programming, staff security, linkages between programme and operations, and the achievement of goals in compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations. The team meets weekly and minutes are circulated to all staff. The programme meetings served as a forum for information exchange on overall programme execution and operational support from the CSU. JCO also established a monthly “housekeeping” meeting to review implementation by PCR-IR, donor reports status, OBOs, status of liquidations/DCTs and recruitment. JCO also has a functional PCARC, which usually meets once a week. To foster the spirit of team work, the office organized a staff retreat for three days in May 2012. JCO also reinstated the Learning and Training Committee whose main purpose is to plan common training sessions as well as review the training applications by staff. The staff also looked at the Office Improvement Plan and made further recommendations for its targets and operationalization. Jordan is at L2 security level, but surrounded by countries with emergencies. In preparedness for potential crises and to ensure office and staff safety, the office has updated the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in coordination with the Regional Office, and enhanced the warden system (update shared on a weekly basis). In addition, a close tracking system was put in place to ensure that staff complete the basic and advanced security training prior to joining and going on field missions. The office also organized two emergency meetings with specific sessions on security for all staff to reinforce understanding and increase readiness for integrated response within the different programmes. Activities were constantly monitored through weekly Emergency task force meetings. Daily and weekly UNDSS updates were shared with staff, and an SMS security advisory is in place. The office reviewed its Risk and Control Library, using the ERM tool to identify required adjustments, reflect the current situation and include appropriate mitigating strategies. The exercise was carried out with programme and CSU staff. The office used the updated risk profile during the year as a monitoring tool.

Strategic Risk Management

A review of the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that was developed jointly last year with the MENA Regional Office was completed this year. The CMT initially formed a Risk Management (RM) Committee, mandated to assess and document key strategic and programmatic risks. The committee conducted the Risk and Control Self-Assessment, whereby it identified and prioritized office objectives and programme interventions for children, and identified circumstances and events that could enhance or impede the achievement of office objectives and programmes. A Risk Profile and Risk and Control Library for the office, which was produced in 2011, was also reviewed this year, following a two days review meeting that was attended by JCO and CSU staff. After detailed discussions, it was agreed that the risks that were identified earlier were to be the same for 2012 as well. The Risk Profile and Risk and Control Library was updated and shared with UNICEF Headquarters as required. The office also achieved stability of critical ICT systems and services. Within its on-going emergency response programme concerning vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan, the


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Jordan Country Office enjoys a high level of readiness to respond to emergencies. While UNICEF stands ready to respond and assist the Government of Jordan, the programme has to deal with highly mobile Syrian Refugees within the country. Therefore, UNICEF JCO has developed an inter-agency contingency plan to ensure minimum level of readiness for a large influx of Syrians into the country. The emergency supply plan also includes prepositioning contingency stock in case of worst case scenario and benefits also from the Regional pre-positioning.

Evaluation

JCO Integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan (IMEP) progress has been tracked regularly and reported on its actual implementation to the CMT and during the end of year annual review. A separate humanitarian IMEP for the Emergency programme was also created and updated on regular basis to reflect the status of the assessments/studies/evaluations planned as part of the Humanitarian support for Syrian refugees. Internally, the office has set up mechanisms and committees to review the technical aspects of commissioned evaluations and research. Terms of references (TOR) for major studies and evaluations that were initiated by Programme sections and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist were reviewed by an office committee and finalized by the Representative. As part of the Quality Assurance system, the TORs were also shared with MENARO for technical clearance. Guidance on Management Response to Evaluation was shared with all colleagues when the IMEP was initially prepared and shared internally in the office. For joint studies with other UN agencies or national institutions, the TOR were also developed and reviewed with the partner agency. Further, a quality assurance checklist was shared with consultants to assist and guide them in delivering quality and UNICEF standard reports. Although this year no major evaluation has been carried out, the office has initiated as part of the Social Policy Programme, a process audit of the Zakat Fund, with the aim of improving the conditionality and targeting mechanisms of their cash distribution assistance ensuring a more equitable approach to beneficiaries, specifically children. Further, the results of JCO’s Evaluation of the Better Parenting (BP) Programme that was conducted in 2010 was used this year to advocate for the integration of the Better Parenting programme into the counterpart ministries’ annual plans and budgets. The recent Syrian crisis and subsequent influx of refugees necessitated carrying out a number of field sectoral assessments in the area of JCO’s humanitarian action, covering mainly the WASH, child protection/psychosocial and nutrition sectors, and mainly within camp settings. Capacity for evaluation internally within the country office has been strengthened through conducting one-day training on M&E for the emergency team on HPM and development of targets and indicators. An orientation session was also conducted for the Field Monitors with the objective of introducing them to UNICEF Core Commitments for Children (CCCs), Humanitarian Performance Monitoring (HPM) concept, and their role and responsibilities in emergency situation. Further, a staff member participated in a Foundation Course in Monitoring and Evaluation organized by the League of Arab States. The CO also strives to strengthen capacity in research and evaluation at national level. Based on the M&E network that was developed last year among a number of partners including government, private sector and civil society, this year witnessed the development of the year’s work plan for the M&E network, the establishment of a website and database for M&E practitioners, and creation of a group on Linked-in. Gaps however continue to remain in capacity at the local level, especially for evaluation of complex and emergency/humanitarian programmes.

Effective Use of Information and Communication Technology

ICT priorities for 2012 were largely focused on VISION stabilization. ICT section played a critical role during the early days of the VISION implementation particularly in the areas related to system-stabilization, escalation/follow-up on the trouble tickets with SMEs and with the ITSSD NYHQ. Over 40 new ICT users (staff/non-staff) deployed by JCO on short and long-term basis have been supported. This required a great deal in meeting their urgent needs in respect to equipment, access to various data and systems, and helpdesk


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support. In order to cater to the increasing connectivity needs, the ICT section managed to negotiate with the ISPs to double both primary and secondary INTERNET links from 8MB to 16MB, each with over US$18,000 worth of yearly saving. The Regional Audio/Video Bridge introduced by the ICT section has been extremely instrumental and cost-effective in our ability to respond to the sub-regional emergency. An additional Telephone PRI Line from a different Telecom (Zain) was deployed in order to lower communication cost. The new PRI link also serves as a backup to our primary link (Orange). A Wireless HSPA router and 8 3G USB Dongles have been deployed to ensure connectivity for staff/non-staff operating from outside the office premises (including the Zaatari Camp). ICT continued to support JCO projects such as the development of a Management Information System for the Zakat Fund. UNICEF ICT jointly with Zakat Fund IT team were responsible for developing the technical TOR/RFP for the system; identifying potential vendors; reviewing and evaluating the proposals; and ensuring quality-control through all phases of system development to ensure successful implementation. The “Ma’An campaign” with the Ministry of Education (MoE) was also supported by the ICT section. The UNICEF ICT section provided technical advice on the Data Gathering Tool that measures violence in schools. A new online tool was suggested by UNICEF and developed in-house by MoE, after the excel-based survey tool was found to have some flaws and shortfalls. The new web-based tool which allows instant data-collection, analysis and reporting has now been tested and launched.

Fund-raising and Donor Relations

In 2012, Jordan experienced an increased influx of Syrian refugees. UNICEF JCO expanded its assistance from Education and Child Protection to also cover WASH and Health and Nutrition. In March 2012, UNICEF JCO together with UNHCR and other UN agencies and partners, launched the Regional Response Plan (RRP) for Syrians. Given the rapid developments on the ground, the RRP was revised twice in 2012, following its release in March. The RRP is an appeal, which targets the international community, and under this, UNICEF JCO appealed for US$ 40 million (OR-E) in 2012. By the end of 2012, UNICEF had successfully mobilized US$ 11,537,548 under OR and US$ 45,007,017 under OR-E. While JCO mobilized in excess of the appeal request, funds will be re-phased into 2013 to support the continuation of emergency assistance in the New Year. Donors include Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Cyprus, Department for International Development (DFID), European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), European Union (EU), France, Germany, Greece, Norway, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), SDC and Spain. UNICEF also engaged the Private Sector to explore opportunities for cooperation and in-kind donations in support of Syrian refugees and on several occasions directed offers to partners on the ground including a donation of soap from Unilever to JCO partner Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED). The office has had 16 donor reports due this year. For the Jordan and Palestinians in Jordan programmes (PLJ), RR utilization rate was 97%; OR utilization at 78% and ORE utilization of 38%. Through the mechanisms of the monthly Country Management Team (CMT) meetings, close monitoring of donor reporting, OR expenditures and PBA expiry was conducted.

Management of Financial and Other Assets

Since the last internal audit in 2010, JCO has continued to ensure that the developed recommendations were backed by an office action plan. Office work processes were continually under revision, especially with the launching of VISION in January 2012 and the introduction of new policies to match with the system change. As requested by the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), the Representative signed a memo to delegate financial responsibilities, and the staff member concerned signed to accept. This year, the Common Services Unit (CSU) released several guidance notes to staff to clearly indicate the steps and responsibilities of staff in travel, Human Resources (HR), Temporary Appointment (TA) recruitment and request for canteen services. JCO is currently updating the payment process, and an Administrative note on short-term visits and recruitment of consultants is expected to be in use by early 2013.


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In addition, the office focused on the implementation of the institutional rules and regulations on processing all financial transactions to improve and expedite the process, where applicable. The CO reviews the status of Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) during the Country Management Team (CMT) meetings, and weekly programme meetings are conducted whenever necessary. Expenditure during the year has been recorded as hereunder: Regular resources: US$ 1,334,174 (JDN & PLJ) Other Resources: US$ 8,581,183 Other resources /Emergency: US$ 17,385,465 In terms of cost savings, the office recorded substantial cost reductions as indicated in its relevant section.

Supply Management

JCO has had to adapt its current operational modalities in responding to the Syrian emergency, and to strengthen capacity in the Supply unit. The unit expanded from having a Contract Assistant to having an additional Procurement Specialist and Supply and Logistics Assistants. As such, the supply is a relatively new component to the country programme and is rapidly growing to match the emergency increasing needs. To date, US$ 19,578,284 has been procured for supplies. The sourcing strategy being put in place is principally to procure strategic items such as vaccines from the Supply Division. Local and regional sourcing of items for which a comparative advantage exists, is also encouraged. To date, more than 30 tenders were issued for locally procured items as diverse as laptops, heating systems, children's clothes, school furniture, hygiene kits, education and stationery materials. The quality of items delivered from local, regional and offshore suppliers to support the programme is relatively high and in a timely manner. Additional quality assurance measures include use of professional third party inspection service providers through the global agreements from Supply Division. Joint bidding has been done with other UN agencies, in particular with UNHCR for procurement of utility trucks. Additionally, all UNICEF Long Term Arrangements (4 LTAs for services; 1 LTA for goods) with suppliers were shared with other agencies to encourage closer collaboration. For an effective and efficient logistics response to the Syria crisis, a logistics sector coordination mechanism was set up by WFP, with monthly meetings attended by all agencies and INGOs. The forum is used to share information, analyze common services and identify gaps in logistics capacity. However, there has been no warehousing partnership with the Government on in-country warehousing. Currently, the office has about 500sqm of storage in Za’atari Camp (three rub halls). UNICEF procures both locally and off-shore. Locally procured supplies are delivered directly to the warehouse at Za’atari camp by suppliers, while for off-shore procured supplies, UNICEF has to arrange for customs clearance through our clearing agents. UNICEF arranges for Tax Exemptions through requests to MoFA and approvals from Jordan Food and Drug Administration for Medical supplies. In order to ensure timely delivery of supplies to end users, UNICEF contracted a third party to handle warehousing and delivery of supplies to end users. An SLA is currently being prepared and under negotiation with WFP to provide access to their warehouses where they can provide storage and handling services. UNICEF handled, cleared and received supplies procured both off-shore and locally of an estimated amount of US$ 507,583. UNICEF also supported Syria CO in the clearing and delivery of 2 Armored Vehicles to Damascus and a third is in process. Following an evaluation of the office involvement in procurement and distribution of supplies, it was found that there is low logistics capacity at the level of implementing partners, especially in the area of warehousing. Capacity building initiatives are on the agenda including training on warehouse management, safety/ security at warehouses and conduct of distributions.


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Human Resources

Human Resources (HR) Support to Jordan Country Office continued to be provided by the HR Unit at the Common Services Unit (CSU). The CSU-HR unit strived for timeliness and efficiency in recruitment of national staff. However, there has always been a challenge in recruitment either due to unavailability of suitable candidates; candidates declining offers; or shortage of funds. This necessitated re-advertising posts several times before filling in vacancies. The CSU-HR assisted the office in hiring staff on Temporary Appointments (TAs) and/or Consultants. Due to the Syrian emergency, recruitment increased tremendously to 47 staff, including a number of TAs to support the emergency programme, with 16 staff on Fixed Term (FT) contracts; 16 Temporary Appointments, 7 Stand By Partners and 8 Consultants, as of today. When conducting interviews this year, the office applied competency based interviews in all vacancies (FT and TA posts). Attempts to enhance gender parity were also taken into account. The interview status at the end of the reporting period was 31 staff, of which 19 were females and 12 males. JCO continues to use Performance Evaluation Reports (PERs) as a monitoring tool to monitor completion rate. As for 2012 Performance Appraisal System (PAS) key performance objectives, the completion rate was 82% by end of November. More still has to be done in the area of performance feedback to ensure that there is a clear link between individual objectives and results, as well as in ensuring clear guidance is provided by supervisors in terms of mid-year review, targets setting and training opportunities (in particular for General Service (GS) staff). During the year, the local training committee met three times to review the training plan and the different individual training requests submitted the JCO staff. A total of five group trainings took place, and a number of individual staff training requests were approved. The CSU Operations Manager attended a TOT for Managing People for Results, for which a training of staff will take place next year to equip them with the required knowledge and skills on performance management. The office uses a tracking matrix sheet as a live-document and a monitoring mechanism to update whenever a new request is submitted and approved. The unit arranges for training/orientation sessions to raise the awareness of staff with regards to different HR topics on ad-hoc basis, in addition to orientations that are provided to new comers, on Fixed-Term and Temporary basis, joining the office. Due to the large number of new staff joining JCO following the emergency, the office is planning to organize an orientation session next year.

Efficiency Gains and Cost Savings

During the year, the office in collaboration with MENARO, through the CSU initiated a number of cost savings avenues, as follows: Communication: Following the renewal of the agreement with Zain mobile network provider, there has been a reduction in the monthly operating cost per line. This came timely as users have increased due to increased number of Jordan Country office staff to support the Syrian crisis. With the below mentioned achievements in cost savings, UNICEF was able to reduce the monthly cost per line: · The blackberry monthly subscription fees per line has been reduced from JD21 to JD18 per month, resulting in an annual saving per line at JD36 · The calls tariff per minute from Zain to other networks has been reduced from JD.080 per minute to JD.030. Saving per minute is JD.050 · A monthly 10% discount per invoice on the total monthly mobile invoices · The received roaming call per minute has been reduced from JD .950 to JD.290 for roamers traveling to Arab countries. Cost saving per minute is JD.660 · The received roaming call per minute has been reduced from JD1.650 to JD.590 for roamers traveling to Europe and USA. Cost saving per minute is JD.1.060 · The received roaming call per minute has been reduced from JD2.350 to JD1.490 for roamers traveling to any other country. Cost saving per minute is JD.860 An additional Telephone PRI Line from a different Telecom (Zain) has been deployed in order to lower communication cost. The new PRI link also serves as a backup to our primary link (Orange). Travel: Through the partnership agreement which has been signed in 2011 with Royal Jordanian airlines, UNICEF was able to issue air tickets for business class travel using miles that have been donated to UNICEF.


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Cost saving per ticket is JD2, 000. In addition, the office, through our travel agent, has signed agreements this year with Air France and Air Alitalia under which UNICEF benefits from discounted air tickets issued for travel with Air France. Cost savings per ticket range from 8 to 10 %. ICT: To improve connectivity to cater for increasing needs, the ICT section managed to negotiate with the ISPs, for both the RO and JCO, to double both primary and secondary INTERNET links from 8MB to 16MB each, resulting with over US$18,000 worth of yearly saving. The Regional Audio/Video Bridge introduced towards the second quarter of the year, has been extremely instrumental and cost-effective in responding to the sub-regional emergency. A Wireless HSPA router and 8 3G USB Dongles have been deployed to ensure connectivity for staff/non-staff operating from outside the office premises (including the Za'atari Camp).

Changes in AMP & CPMP

JCO developed its Country Programme Management Plan (2013-2017), as this year represents the last year of the current Country Programme cycle (2008-2012). Next year will mark the first year of the implementation of a new five-year Country Programme for the years 2013 – 2017, which will focus on strengthening upstream work, in particular in the areas of Child protection and Social Policies. The recent Syrian crisis and subsequent influx of refugees, together with the underserved pockets of previous refugee populations (Iraqis and Palestinians) also require an expansion of humanitarian action and continued attention to service delivery. The 2013-2017 Country Programme will be guided by four drivers: 1) Strengthening upstream work on social policies building on the equity agenda and taking advantage of the achievements in the previous cycle. 2) Rationalization of sections to reflect the new Programme Components Results (PCRs.) 3) Sharpening equity achievements and responding to emerging programme areas given MTSP and national development agenda. 4) Maintaining capacity to respond to increased humanitarian needs, while ensuring the linkages to current programme and paving the way to recovery. The office structure has been reviewed in line with the latest Mid-Term Review (MTR), as well as with the addition of the two Social Protection PCRs and of the Young Child Survival and Development (YCSD) one. No significant staff change is expected in the staffing structure considering the global financial situation. However, in order to achieve what has been highlighted in the new Country Programme Document (CPD), there will be increased attention to social protection; the need to enhance M&E capacity, equity-based analysis, as well as the heightened humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees, necessitating having few human resources additions. To address that, ten new professional positions have been established to strengthen Social Policy and Protection, ECD, YCSD and humanitarian aspect. One position was upgraded to match with the required job profiles. Change in reporting relationship for better coordination and delivery has been instituted to six positions. Staff competence and capacity building will continue to be an important management strategy, in order to ensure that staff are capable of fulfilling and realizing individual and collective responsibilities. A detailed training/learning plan is one of the means the office will ensure is prepared and monitored yearly to achieve this.


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Document Centre

Evaluation

Title Sequence

Number Type of Report

1 Jordan Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality Study 2012/001 Study

2 Breastfeeding study 2012/002 Study

3 Jordan Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality Study 2012/001 Study

4 Breastfeeding study 2012/002 Study

Other Publications

Title

1 UNICEF Jordan Representative speaking about UNICEF services in Za'atari

2 Child Marriage PSA – Chalk

3 Child Marriage PSA – photo

4 Guidelines on dealing with children in situation of crisis

5 Vaccinations for Syrian refugees

6 Importance of education for Syrian refugees

Lessons Learned

Title Document Type/Category

1 JCO’s Humanitarian Response to Syrian Crisis Lesson Learned

2 Community and Family Integration programme Innovation

Lessons Learned / Innovation

1 JCO’s Humanitarian Response to Syrian Crisis

Document Type/Category MTSP Focus Area or Cross-Cutting

Strategy Related Links

Lesson Learned Emergencies RRP3 document

Contact Person Language Emergency Related

Eugene Ha, Emergency Specialist, [email protected]

English Yes

Abstract

With regards to UNICEF Jordan’s expanding emergency response, UNICEF Jordan has built on several strength factors underpinning its regular programme. It has maintained its capacity to respond to increased humanitarian needs, while ensuring the linkages to current programme and paving the way to recovery. UNICEF Jordan, has considerably expanded in terms of human and financial resources, and has integrated the emergency team and the regular programme. This has allowed stronger programmatic coherence, additional availability of funding for under-resourced areas (e.g. Child Protection) and continuum between humanitarian response and the regular development work. In particular JCO benefited from a strong and


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long standing partnership and relations with line ministries and already existing partners and with the previous interventions which covered already vulnerable Iraqis and Jordanian children and women.

Innovation or Lesson Learned

Fund raising for emergency has proven to be particularly useful to reach areas underfunded in the regular programme (e.g. alternative care, inclusive education etc). Additional human resources acquired for the emergency response have also bridged to the regular programme supporting work on already existing country issues (child labor, early marriage, quality education etc.). WASH response remains very limited to the emergency response and it would be difficult to envisage JCO engagement on the matter in the long run for its regular programme. The cooperation with the Ministry of Health has proven strong, but a formal MoU to overcome hurdles in the provision of medical supplies is needed. Also there is still much room to jointly link the regular programme work, in particular on IMCI and violence detection. JCO had not dealt with supply and logistics in a consistent manner and the structure has needed an adjustment as transactions were initially problematic without dedicated human resources. HR recruitment procedures have also proven difficult to be coping with the fast need for “people on the ground” that JCO experienced.

Potential Application

The process of structural adjustment that JCO has undergone in the space of less than 6 months can be used for other COs experiencing a sudden passage from a Middle Income Country structure mainly dedicated to upstream work, to a massive emergency response which requires service delivery. JCO has managed to adjust through: - Using emergency resources to benefit the regular programme by creating linkages for common issues (especially on CP and Education). - Strengthening evidence based knowledge. - Merging emergency team and regular programme staff into one by ensuring one benefits from the other in terms of best practices and partnerships (e.g. the emergency programme has ensured a broad spectrum of new NGO partners to be engaged in regular programme areas with gaps).

Issue

Jordan is a middle income country that has not witnessed a major domestic humanitarian crisis. However due to its geo-political location, Jordan received refugees from neighbouring countries in the past years. JCO responded in the past to the Iraqi humanitarian crisis, amongst others and the recent Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan. This year, with an escalation of the Syrian crisis, it necessitated UNICEF to take immediate and unplanned-for action to be in the front line response to the refugee crisis. UNICEF has scaled-up to meet urgent humanitarian needs for Syrian refugees in Jordan, including in camps and in host communities.

Strategy and Implementation

The humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees required JCO to considerably expand in terms of human and financial resources, and has integrated the emergency team with the regular programme. Increased fundraising for Emergency and consequently staffing opportunities benefited the regular programme. Partnerships with stakeholders greatly benefited from linkages with the regular programme. Emergency Working Groups (WG) were linked to existing sectoral mechanisms in particular on Education and Child Protection (joint Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) being developed). Building on past experience, including that of the Iraqi crises, and based on the geographical location of Jordan, humanitarian assistance was covered through identified essential activities. As a sector lead in WASH, co-lead in Education, and co-lead of the CP-GBV Working Group, UNICEF ensured effective coordination mechanisms among national and international partners. JCO managed the process of developing respective sector responses, as part of the Syria Regional Response Plan (RRP) and its subsequent three revisions. It led inclusive and consultative processes in the respective working groups, ensuring targeted responses in adherence with Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and other quality standards. The RRP and its revisions were complimented by inter-agency contingency planning, in which UNICEF coordinated Education and WASH components, based upon an arrival of 300,000 Syrians by June 2013.


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Progress and Results

JCO benefited from a strong Child Protection partnership with the Family and Protection Departments (in particular the violence tracking system) and large psycho-social interventions, which covered already vulnerable Iraqis and Jordanian children and women. In health, long standing relationship with line ministries facilitated UNICEF’s response, namely on the support to Ministry of Health to deliver immunization campaigns. The emergency activities were built on existing joint programs, such as Better Parenting, violence tracking and Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI). An emergency preparedness and response plan was developed to ensure implementation of the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs). JCO also linked its strong M&E system and expanded it to the Humanitarian Performance Monitoring. The Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) for the next five years (2013-2017) was developed, whereby Emergency preparedness and response to Syrian and Iraqi refugees were mainstreamed under the regular programme’s Programme Component Results (PCR). The unpredictability of the Syrian crisis brings along challenges in particular on the Government’s position towards humanitarian aid delivery in large camp settings, Government’s capacity to cover primary services such as Education and Health, and JCO expansion towards CCC areas that are outside its current regular programme (e.g. nutrition). Furthermore mobilization of resources for Iraqi and Palestinian refugees will be problematic, due to the donors’ shift of attention. The delays in the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) approvals required for international partners working on humanitarian response are also a matter of concern.

Next Steps

As part of the newly developed CPAP (2013-2017), emergency preparedness and response to Syrian and Iraqi refugees will be mainstreamed under the regular programme PCRs and will constitute an essential part of the cycle. Humanitarian assistance will remain an essential cross-cutting component given the deterioration of the Syrian crisis and pre-existing refugee case load. The emergency team will also expand and include staff who are familiar on cluster coordination as well as refugee camp-like settings. There will also be a shift in emphasis within Supply. The office has not been dealing with a significant amount of supplies due to the prevalence of “upstream work”. However the recent humanitarian crisis related to Syrian refugees requires additional capacities in terms of procurement and supplies management.

2 Community and Family Integration programme

Document Type/Category MTSP Focus Area or Cross-Cutting

Strategy Related Links

Innovation FA4, FA5 Community – Family Integration Teams (C-FIT) Project End of Year Report

Contact Person Language Emergency Related

Maha Homsi, ECD and Child Protection Specialist, [email protected]

English

Abstract

UNICEF, together with Columbia University for Social Work, set the foundation for a major reorientation in child welfare and juvenile justice policy and practice. The Community-Family Integration Programme (C-FIT) introduced a paradigm shift in adapting evidence-based community-based approach for child placement that prevents their institutionalisation. Research demonstrates that institutional care for children is the worst form of care in terms of responding to their developmental needs. The Programme entails two parts: a foster care initiative for abused and neglected children and a diversion programme for children in conflict with the law. The foster care part aims at implementing sustainable alternatives to institutional placements for children deprived of parental care, by setting the foundation for a major shift in child welfare policy and practice in Jordan.


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The Diversion programme places children in conflict with law within community programmes that rehabilitates them while in their family’s custody.

Innovation or Lesson Learned

To move beyond institutional models of care, this project draws support from international and local research evidence, local expertise, and local cultural values about optimal models of care for vulnerable children. These evidence-based intervention models reduce reliance on institutions by strengthening local capacity to divert at-risk children and juveniles from institutional care prior to placement and identify children currently in institutional care whose needs may be better served in a family in a community-based setting. Also use of evidence-based pilot (through the foster care programme) to convince policy makers with viability of the programme, which demonstrated the impact on the children wellbeing and also demonstrated the financial savings from implementing a community-based programme. The programme is a good example of knowledge transfer; the Columbia team is working with Ministry of Social Development staff seconded to this project to obtain the needed information and skills to take this project forward. Religious leaders are part of the programme and are advocating with families to accept the principle of foster care.

Potential Application

The clinical trial will occur in the second year of the project in the governorates Irbid and Zarqa, with the goal of replication and scaling-up across Jordan and beyond with regional partners. Program implementation in Jordan can provide invaluable insights, a clear sense of options, and a base of information from which it may be possible to extrapolate and inform similar initiatives in the wider Middle East region, where comparable data with program and policy implications appear to be in short supply.

Issue

Children placed in care homes and detention centres are among most vulnerable group in Jordan. Due to maltreatment, abandonment, or conflict with the law, these marginalized children are separated from their families and stigmatized by their peers and communities. The project started with a screening study which indicated that 40% of children in the 6-11 age group exhibit problems such as rule breaking and aggression; 33% of children had mental health or behavioural problems, while 84% of youths in detention centres reported exposure to distressing circumstances. These findings informed the development of community-based alternatives to institutional placement, and the development of case management practices and psychosocial support services. The assessment has underscored the need for the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) to explore alternatives to institutional care.

Strategy and Implementation

The program design emerged through the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders. The program is a package of interventions delivered to children and families by behavioural observers and social workers from partnering community-based organizations in cooperation with first-instance courts. Families are provided with case management services using a task-centred approach and parent management training and psycho-education to strengthen family processes and to meet the individualized psychosocial needs of children. The program features specific innovations that include: capacity to implement specialized evidence-based interventions; high levels of interagency collaboration; professionalization of behavioural observers; and establishment of supervisory capacity to monitor program fidelity. A pilot project for diverting children in conflict with the law was setup, whereby ten juveniles were placed in community based rehabilitation programme. Another pilot project for foster care of children deprived of parental care is operational in Zarqa; five children between 2-6 years were placed with foster families. Currently the project is preparing to evaluate the impact of the intervention through following up on some 20 juveniles and 20 foster care children, and measure the level of change, which will be used as a strong advocacy tool to promote the approach.


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Progress and Results

First ever complete system for placing children in foster care and diversion programme has been developed, implemented and tested with its guidelines and community-based interventions manuals. Five children were placed with foster families and 10 juveniles diverted (40 more expected by end of year). Foster and probation support budgets were included in the Ministry of Social Development's budget, which represents a crucial component of sustainability and a milestone to introduce foster care as part of the Ministry’s strategy. Other accomplishments: 1) completion of developmental screening of mental health and functioning of 433 children and youth in 6 care homes and JDCs; 2) creation of local and Judicial working groups ; 3) development and testing of Clinical Client Assessment system; 4) capacity building of professionals and community agencies, judiciary, and MoSD; 5) shifts in judicial and MoSD interpretation of law, and; 6) Community-based stigma and social-exclusion study completed 7) development of two 16-week interventions programs 8) intervention protocols, worksheets, and manuals. Limited capacity and number of social workers remains an obstacle, and limited financing which threatens continuity. Logistical issues hinder social workers abilities to conduct needed family visits. A change in the mind-set of judiciary and practitioners is necessary requiring lengthy process of engagement.

Next Steps

While the programme is so far only operating in Zarqa and Irbid governorates, work is underway to expand fostering and diversion across the country, and expand the caseloads. Scaled up implementation is planned in Zarqa, Irbid, and Amman. Also expansion of policy advocacy for nationwide application of the foster care programme is planned. National guidelines for alternative care are being drafted and being informed by this programme. It is vital to have smooth transition from next year onwards to ensure the programme’s continuity. Sustainable funding mechanisms with MoSD, including NGOs will be established. Partnering with local NGOs will be necessary to build staff capacity for family support intervention delivery and existing behavioural observers will be utilized, with additional specialized case management training. It is also planned to prepare for expansion through on-going relationships with partners in more traditional communities and in emergency settings. A detailed assessment was conducted on the financial gains that the Government would have in terms of foster care and it will be the basis, together with the overall assessment of the well-being and developmental improvement of children in foster care, for further advocacy with the Government.


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Summary Notes and Acronyms

ACTED Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development AGFUND Arab Gulf Programme for Development AMP Annual Management Plan BCP Business Continuity Plan BP Better Parenting

BPRM Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration C4D Communication for Development CCC Core Commitments for Children CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

CERF Central Emergency Response Fund C-FIT Community-Family Integration Programme

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CMT Country Management Team CO Country Office CP Country Programme CPAP Country Programme Action Plan CPD Country Programme Document CPMP Country Programme Management Plan CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CSU Common Services Unit DCT Direct Cash Transfer

DFA Department of Finance and Administration DFID Department for International Development ECD Early Childhood Development

ECHO European Community Humanitarian Office ERM Enterprise Risk Management EU European Union FT Fixed Term GBV Gender Based Violence GS General Service HDI Human Development Index HPM Humanitarian Performance Monitoring HR Human Rights HRBA Human Rights-Based Approach ICT Information and Communication Technology IR Intermediate Result IMC International Medical Corps IMCI Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses IMEP Integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Plan INGO International Non-Governmental Organization ITSSD Information Technology Solutions and Services Department JCO Jordan Country Office JDC Juvenile Detention Centre JEN Japan Emergency NGOs Ma’An Together for a Safe School Environment MDG Millennium Development Goals M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MENA Middle East and North Africa MENARO Middle East and North Africa Regional Office MoE Ministry of Education MoFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs MoPIC Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation MoSD Ministry of Social Development


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MoU Memorandum of Understanding MTR Mid-Term Review MTSP Medium-Term Strategic Plan NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRC Norwegian Refugee Council NYHQs New York Headquarters OBO Outstanding Budgetary Obligation OIC Officer In Charge PAS Performance Appraisal System PCA Programme Cooperation Agreement PCARC Programme Cooperation Agreement Review Committee PCR Programme Component Result PER Performance Evaluation Report

PLJ Palestinians in Jordan programme RRP` Regional Response Plan RM Risk Management

SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SLA Service Level Agreement SOP Standard Operating Procedure TA Temporary Appointment TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of Trainers UN United Nations UNDSS United Nations Department of Safety and Security UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WFP World Food Programme WG Working Group WHO World Health Organization

YCSD Young Child Survival and Development

UNICEF Annual Report 2012 for Jordan, MENA · · 2017-02-03Further, the limited capacity and...

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Transcript of UNICEF Annual Report 2012 for Jordan, MENA · · 2017-02-03Further, the limited capacity and...